STANDARD SELECT ELECTROSTRICTIVE LEAD MAGNESIUM NIOBATE ACTUATORS FOR ACTIVE AND ADAPTIVE OPTICAL-COMPONENTS

For the past 15 years, Litton/Itek Optical Systems has fabricated precision ferroelectric actuators for use in active and adaptive optical components. With the advent of lead magnesium niobate (PMN), such devices attained revolutionary performance improvements. A thorough understanding of the electrostrictive nature of the material has been developed and used to optimize the material properties. Finite element models have been developed to maximize transducer response and establish safe operating bounds. An overview of the multilayer actuator fabrication process is provided, with emphasis on in-process controls and qualification blocks. A patented Standardized Electrodisplacive Transducer (SELECT) method of manufacture has been developed to improve manufacturing yields, sensitivity uniformity, and low voltage response. Several SELECT configurations have been established for a variety of positioning applications. A summary of the SELECT actuator configurations is given for numerous applications, supported by experimental data.